Silent stars before the eclipse

The sky above our small town had always been beautiful at night. When the noise of the day disappeared and the streets became quiet, countless stars would appear across the darkness like tiny lights scattered by unseen hands. Most people barely noticed them. Some were too busy with their lives, while others simply didn't care enough to look up. But I did. Every night, whenever my thoughts became too loud, I found myself staring at the stars. My name is Charles Mendoza, and at seventeen years old, I had become someone who preferred silence over noise. I wasn't the type of person people remembered after a conversation. I wasn't popular, athletic, or particularly interesting. I was simply Charles—the quiet student who sat near the back of the classroom and spent most of his free time reading books or listening to music through his earphones. And honestly, I didn't mind. Being invisible was easier. People couldn't disappoint you if they never noticed you in the first place. That Friday evening, I sat on the rooftop of our old school building, my favorite place in the entire town. The cool breeze brushed against my skin as I looked up at the sky and counted the stars one by one. It was a habit I had developed years ago. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, counting stars somehow made everything feel smaller. My worries, my fears, and the uncertainty of the future all seemed insignificant beneath the endless sky. I had already reached fifty-two when a familiar voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. "You're doing it again." A smile immediately tugged at the corner of my lips. I didn't even need to look back. There was only one person who would find me here without fail. Diovann Reyes. My best friend. My complete opposite. I turned my head and saw him standing near the rooftop door, holding two bottles of soda. The sunset's remaining glow painted his face with warm colors, and his messy hair danced lightly in the evening wind. As usual, he wore the same carefree smile that somehow made everything around him feel brighter. Diovann had always been different from me. While I preferred silence, he loved conversations. While I stayed in the shadows, he naturally attracted attention. While I spent weekends reading novels, he spent them playing basketball with half the town. Yet despite our differences, we had been inseparable ever since we were seven years old. "Most people spend Friday nights with actual human beings," he said as he walked toward me. I accepted the soda he offered and raised an eyebrow. "I am with an actual human being." Diovann laughed. "Wow. Charles made a joke." "It wasn't a joke." "It definitely was." I shook my head and opened the bottle. Some things never changed. Diovann sat beside me and stretched his legs in front of him. For several minutes, neither of us spoke. We simply stared at the stars above us. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It never was. That's what made our friendship special. Most people felt the need to fill every quiet moment with words, but Diovann understood that silence didn't always need fixing. Sometimes, simply being there was enough. After a while, he leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. "Do you think there are aliens up there?" I sighed immediately. "There it is." "What?" "The weekly alien question." He grinned. "So that's a yes?" "No." "Maybe?" "No." "Definitely yes." I laughed despite myself. Diovann's grin widened. "There! You laughed." "I hate you." "No, you don't." The annoying part was that he was right. I didn't. Not even a little. In fact, if someone asked me what the best part of my life was, the answer would probably be sitting beside Diovann beneath the stars. The thought surprised me. Maybe because it felt true. My attention drifted back to the sky. Graduation was only months away. The future felt closer than ever before. College. New places. New people. New lives. The idea should have excited me. Instead, it scared me. For years, my life had followed a familiar pattern. Wake up. Go to school. Spend time with Diovann. Watch the stars. Simple. Comfortable. Safe. But nothing stayed the same forever. A ringtone suddenly echoed across the rooftop. Diovann pulled out his phone and immediately groaned. "Oh no." I glanced at him. "What happened?" "My mom." I laughed. "You're scared of your mother." "I'm not scared." "You look terrified." "I respect her." "You're scared." He pointed at me dramatically. "You smiled again." I quickly looked away. "No, I didn't." "You absolutely did." I felt my cheeks warm slightly. One of the things I hated most about Diovann was how easily he could read me. No matter how hard I tried to hide my emotions, he always noticed. Maybe that was what happened when someone knew you for ten years. Or maybe eleven. I had lost count. "Come on," he suddenly said as he stood up. "Where?" "Home." "I'm going home." "No. You're coming to my house." I sighed. "Why?" "Because my mom made enough food to feed an army, and she'll be offended if you don't help us finish it." "That's not my problem." "It is now." Before I could argue further, he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the rooftop door. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered resisting. I always lost. The walk to his house was peaceful. Streetlights illuminated the quiet roads while crickets sang from somewhere in the distance. The town seemed asleep, wrapped in the calm embrace of the night. As we walked, Diovann talked about random things. A basketball game. A teacher who accidentally called a student by the wrong name. A funny video he had watched online. I listened while occasionally responding. Truthfully, I enjoyed hearing him talk. His voice somehow made the world feel less lonely. When we finally arrived at his house, the smell of food immediately greeted us. My stomach betrayed me with a loud growl. Diovann smirked. "Hungry?" "No." "Your stomach disagrees." I rolled my eyes. The front door opened before we could knock. His mother appeared with her hands on her hips. "Finally." Diovann immediately straightened. "Good evening, Mom." She ignored him completely and focused on me instead. "Charles, come inside." I smiled politely. "Good evening, Tita." Dinner felt warm in a way I couldn't explain. Laughter filled the table. Most of it came from Diovann, who somehow managed to turn every conversation into a joke. His mother scolded him repeatedly. He ignored her every time. I found myself smiling more than usual. For a few hours, I forgot about graduation. I forgot about the future. I forgot about every worry waiting for me outside that house. Later that night, I finally decided to leave. The clock showed almost ten. "I should head home." Diovann immediately stood. "I'll walk you." "You don't have to." "I'm doing it anyway." A few minutes later, we were once again walking beneath the stars. The town had become even quieter. Only the sound of our footsteps accompanied us. For a while, neither of us spoke. Then I finally said something that had been bothering me for weeks. "What do you think happens after graduation?" Diovann glanced at me. "What do you mean?" "I mean..." I hesitated. "Everything changes, right?" He didn't answer immediately. I continued. "We'll probably go to different places." "Maybe." "We'll meet new people." "Probably." I looked down at the road. "What if we drift apart?" The words escaped before I could stop them. For a moment, silence surrounded us. Then Diovann suddenly stopped walking. I turned toward him. The streetlight above us illuminated his face. For once, he wasn't smiling. "Charles." I met his eyes. "You really think I'd let that happen?" I looked away. "I don't know." He sighed softly. Then his usual smile returned, though this one felt gentler somehow. "We've been best friends for eleven years." I nodded. "That's not changing." "People change." "Maybe." "They move on." "Maybe." "They forget." His expression softened. "Not me." My chest tightened unexpectedly. For some reason, hearing those words affected me more than they should have. Maybe because a part of me had been afraid. Afraid that one day I'd look beside me and realize Diovann wasn't there anymore. Afraid that our story would end the same way most friendships did. Quietly. Gradually. Without warning. But standing beneath that streetlight, he looked at me as if the answer was obvious. As if leaving had never even crossed his mind. He extended his fist toward me. A childhood tradition. A promise. A reminder. "No matter what happens," he said, "you'll always be my best friend." I stared at his hand for a moment before lightly bumping my fist against his. "Promise?" "Promise." Neither of us knew it then. Neither of us understood how much our lives were about to change. We didn't know that new people would enter our world. We didn't know that secrets would slowly emerge from the shadows. We didn't know that feelings we couldn't yet name would begin growing between moments of laughter and late-night conversations beneath the stars. All we knew was that we were two boys standing beneath the night sky. Two best friends making a promise. And above us, the stars remained silent. Watching. Waiting. As if they already knew that every eclipse begins with light. And every unforgettable story begins with a single promise beneath the stars.